Labour faces an open goal in this week’s local elections. It mustn’t miss | Larry Elliott

At the moment, you might ask how Keir Starmer's party could possibly fail. Yet things may not be quite so simple

This week's local government elections take place against the backdrop of a deepening cost of living crisis. Inflation is at its highest level in three decades, and the worst is yet to come. With wages struggling to keep pace with rising prices, living standards are being eroded fast.

Throw in Partygate and the fact that it is mid-term for the current parliament, and all the conditions are in place for voters to give the government a proper kicking. The Conservatives expect to perform terribly, with good reason.

Larry Elliott is the Guardian's economics editor